Today’s readers of science fiction and fantasy have an appetite for stories that address a wide variety of voices, perspectives, and styles. There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about space ships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor N. K. Jemisin, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Jemisin bringing her lyrical, endlessly curious point of view to the series’ latest edition.

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS is the series editor of Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, as well as many other anthologies, such as Wastelands, The Living Dead, and The Apocalypse Triptych. He is also the editor and publisher of the magazines Nightmare and the Hugo Award-winning Lightspeed, and is a producer for WIRED’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. He lives in California.

Thank God I didn't buy this book. I read a copy from the local library. I really enjoy science fiction, not so much on the fantasy. This book just delivered fantasy. Maybe 2018 was just a bad year. Maybe critiques would enjoy it, but the stores were just too hard to follow. There were a total of twenty, I only finished three.

I am pumped about this book. Reading the intro you learn that the author read about 5000 stories that met the criteria. From there he picked 40 SF & 40 Fantasy. His co-author J.K. Jemisin read those 80 not knowing who authored them or how they were published. She got the 80 down to 10 SF & 10 Fantasy. Those are the 20 stories in this book.

I'm working my way through the stories and will update my review when I'm done.

I didn't love every story, but I don't expect to in an anthology. The Resident by Carmen Maria Machado stood out to me as the most memorable. Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue by Charlie Jane Anders was great, but it was also very hard to read. The Orange Tree by Maria Dahvana Headley had gorgeous prose, and I'm a sucker for historical settings.

Wonderfully diverse (in terms of style/author/subject) stories, with brilliant introductory notes--this series is always such a joy, but wanted to shout-out these picks in particular for bringing together such wildly different writers, both familiar and new. All also feel so sharply relevant in these times...

None of the stories were very good, but I gave up with the explicit male homosexual part of one story. I do see that this is any part of science fiction or fantasy. Actually these stories seemed to be picked for male and female homosexual characters which I am OK with, but I wanted to read science fiction.